


until we have each other we're strangers

by esports_person94 (psychedelic_iridescent)



Series: mitskiverse [4]
Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Cats, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dancing, Established Relationship, F/M, Flirting, Formalwear, M/M, Married Couple, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Injuries, Multi, Nipple Piercings, Nipple Play, Other, Piercings, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Polyfidelity, Slow Dancing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:40:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21807307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychedelic_iridescent/pseuds/esports_person94
Summary: "We ought to be lone, my home's your ownUntil we have each other we're strangers"(egoflapbang sequel to "i've kissed you before but i didn't do it right"){PERMANENT HIATUS DUE TO GRUMPS REVOKING CONSENT FOR NSFW}
Relationships: Dan Avidan/Arin Hanson, Dan Avidan/Suzy Berhow, Dan Avidan/Suzy Berhow/Arin Hanson, Suzy Berhow/Arin Hanson
Series: mitskiverse [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1546516
Comments: 102
Kudos: 116





	1. let's lay down our masks and be true

**Author's Note:**

> it diverts from the mitski theme, i know, but "break for lovers" by men i trust was the PERFECT song for this fic's title, description, chapter titles, and in-work quotes, so i'm going with that one!
> 
> this fic is intended to begin shortly after "somewhere like heaven"

//

_I know there’s a reason we use such curves__  
__Riddles in smiles rather than small talk__  
__I know we both want things to be done in a truthful manner__  
__Hear nature’s words, my dear friend_  
  
//  
  
Their new office is still under renovation, so they’ve been filming at Arin’s place, cuddled up close together on the couch in Arin’s living room. One definite luxury of filming from home is that there's no one to walk in them cudding except Suzy and the cats, all of whom would far sooner just cuddle up along with them than voice any complaint about their public display of affection.

“I really love filming here,” Dan announces. “It reminds me of the olden days.” 

“What, like, medieval times?” Arin suggests, guiding his character to dodge some falling boulders. “Like the Oregon Trail? Are you about to die of dysentery?”

“I’m gonna pretend those were separate suggestions, and we’ll all just agree to assume you _ do _ actually know that the Oregon Trail was fuckin’ _ way _ after the medieval times,” Dan giggles. Mimi is a comforting warmth; she's curled up asleep with her head on his leg, and he’s rubbing the space between her ears with one broad thumb absentmindedly as he watches Arin play. 

“Dude, I know _ that,”_ Arin huffs.

“I mean, _do_ you know that, though?” Dan asks, amused. “Because you just said…”

“Alright, yes, okay, yeah,” Arin laughs. “I just meant ‘medieval’ to mean, like, a really long time ago. Not specifically, like, the medieval, like, era. Just like. Y’know. Medieval, like, super old. Just the plain kind of medieval.”

“That’s not gonna be correct no matter how many times you say the word ‘medieval,'” Dan informs him. There’s some rummaging-type sounds coming from the kitchen, so Dan calls out, “Don’t you agree, Suzy?”

He glances behind him when Suzy doesn’t respond - she’s wearing a pair of chunky, retro-looking headphones, dancing along to a beat only she can hear as she pours herself a glass of water from a large pitcher. She’s wearing a half-unzipped hoodie with the sleeves pushed up, a modest black sports bra, and a pair of baggy black sweatpants that Dan strongly suspects at one point belonged to Arin. She chugs half the glass of water in one gulp, spilling a little down her chin. 

She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and then meets Dan’s eyes, smiling and waving at him. The sleeves of the hoodie are pushed up, her hands and lower arms are stained with paint and there are a few small splashes of color on her cheeks and forehead. Her hair is up in a messy ponytail, half falling down, she doesn’t appear to be wearing any makeup, and she’s absolutely_ glowing _ with creative energy. 

“Suzy sure is fuckin’ gorgeous, isn’t she?” Arin pipes in. Dan turns around, cheeks burning. Arin grins. “Oh my god, are you _ blushing?” _

“No!” Dan cries, mock-defensively. He giggles. “Yes. Sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” Arin asks. He offers him the controller. “Here, you wanna play a while? My hand is getting sore.”

“Sure,” Dan agrees, taking it from him. He glances over his shoulder again, but Suzy’s gone. He returns his attention to the screen. “What, uh, what are we trying to do here again?” 

“Collect all eight cards. The fifth one’s at the top of the Eiffel Tower here, you just gotta climb up and grab it,” Arin explains.

“That’s right,” Dan says. “I remember now.” He guides his character up the first couple levels of the tower, then pauses to ask, “Who’s going around hiding these cards on top of national landmarks, anyway?”

“I dunno. Satan?”

“Checks out.”

//


	2. so that our eyes be bound in affection

//

“I just don’t understand _ why _ there would be a pair of scissors flying towards your face to _ begin _ with, though,” Suzy tells Dan, leading him by the arm. Her tone is absolutely that of a disapproving mother, and Dan can’t help but feel the tiniest bit ashamed.

“It was for an opening bit on the Power Hour,” Dan explains, holding the red-stained paper towel to his forehead and letting Suzy guide him to the downstairs bathroom of Brent’s house. “We thought it would be funny if we threw the stuff offscreen, and then it just flew right back at us. It just, uh, wasn’t exactly the best idea to have Tucker also throw all the _ contents _ of the cup, when one of the cup’s contents, was, well, scissors.”

“Scissors, yeah,” Suzy finishes the sentence with him. She directs him to sit down on the side of the bathtub while she goes to the medicine cabinet. “I mean, the scissors are _ particularly _dangerous, but none of those items are exactly, uh, soft?”

“We really overestimated our ability to dodge,” Dan admits. He pulls the paper towel away from the wound, pouting dramatically. “Give me the bad news. Wait, no, how bad is it? Am I gonna die? Am I forever scarred?”

Suzy turns around, a small collection of items gathered in her arms. She crouches down in front of him and gently grabs his chin between her thumb and forefinger, tilting his head from side to side. The cut is about the length of her pinky nail, about half the width of a piece of yarn. “Not that bad at all, ” she tells him. “I’m sure you’ll live well into your golden years, scar-free.”

“Cool,” Dan grins. “Well, I already have the one scar. I’m not sure how many scars you get before you automatically become a supervillain, but I don’t want to take the risk.”

“You could never be a villain,” Suzy insists, pouring some antiseptic onto a small yellow washcloth. “You’re _ way _ too sweet. You’d try to take over the world and just end up apologizing for upsetting anybody.”  
  
“That does seem like a pretty fair estimate of how it would go, yeah,” Dan laughs. “I know a lot of people who say they’re villain people, like they _ always _ side with the villains, but I dunno, it might be cliche of me, but I can’t _ not _ root for the hero.” 

“Oh, see, I’m _absolutely_ one of those villain people. I love villains,” Suzy tells him. Dan looks up at her, mock-scandalized. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. They have the coolest songs and the best outfits!”

“Alright, fair points,” Dan concedes. 

Suzy tilts Dan’s chin up with two fingers and then leans in close. Her voice is soft and low, her lips inches from his face. “Danny,” she says stoically, “I love you way too much to lie to you.” 

“Give it to me straight, doc,” Dan says, a wry smile on his face.

Holding up the washcloth, she gives him a sympathetic grin, “This shit’s gonna sting like a _ motherfucker.” _ She grabs his hand and gives it a squeeze. “Close your eyes, sweetie.” He does, and she gently swipes the cloth over the cut. He hisses and squeezes her hand tighter; she rubs her thumb back and forth over his knuckles and hums in sympathy. She cleans the cut slowly and carefully, gently and methodically.

“You’re doing such a good job,” she tells him. She tilts his head a little, turns her own to compensate. “Arin won’t let me go _ near _ him with this stuff.”  
  
“Yeah, it’s not great,” Dan remarks through clenched teeth. He lets out a sigh of relief when Suzy draws the washcloth back.

Leaning away, she inspects the cut one final time and then sets the cloth down on the side of the bathtub. She gives his hand one final squeeze and then takes her hand back to apply a small piece of gauze. Leaning back in even closer, she holds the gauze still with one perfectly manicured black nail until she has it properly stuck down with a band-aid, then she smooths the edges of the bandage down with both her thumbs. Her long, dark hair falls forward into her face, and her hands are clearly busy, so Dan thinks nothing of tucking it back for her.

But then she looks up at him from where she’s sat on the floor, on her knees, in front of him, and their faces are so close, her fingers are framing his jawline and his hands are in her hair...

She scoots back suddenly; his fingernails drag lightly and inadvertently down along the back and sides of her neck in turn as she leans back away from him. Her heart is in her throat and his expression is so confused and innocent, but she also knows him well enough to recognize the look in his eyes for what it really is, and knows that he's feeling the same way she does.

The knock at the door makes them both jump, suddenly aware of how long it’s been since either of them said anything.

“Dr. Berhow, is the patient stable?” Arin demands through the door, his voice theatrically distraught and desperate. He switches to the high-pitched drawl of a Southern beauty queen. “Oh, my poor sweet baby boy! Cut down in his prime!” He audibly throws himself bodily against the door and slides down. “Oh, it should’ve been _me!” _

“Arin, are you fucking filming this right now?” Dan demands. The crowd of giggles answers that question. He and Suzy exchange fondly exasperated smiles. 

“Doctor, please, don’t leave me hanging!” Arin wails. “Give me the news! My boy! _ My boy!” _

Dan gives Suzy a wink and climbs into the bathtub, drawing the shower curtain closed. Suzy opens the door, drying her eyes of fake tears and mock-sobbing. “I lost him!” she cries. Arin gasps in horror. “Literally! I don’t know _ where _ he went!”   
  
“We can see you, Dan,” Tucker points out. “The shower curtain’s kinda see-through.” 

Tucker zooms in on Dan’s silhouette behind the curtain. Dan attempts to scrunch down out of sight, to no avail. Arin walks into the bathroom, drawing the shower curtain back. Dan peers up at him sheepishly. 

“Doctor, it's a miracle! He’s alive!” Arin exclaims, his voice booming off the walls. He throws his arms around Dan’s shoulders in a massive bear hug. “Oh, you _ did _ it, you _lived,_ you old son of a gun!”

//


	3. aware of our lust and our shared trust

//  
  
So apparently a friend of Brian’s got married back in his hometown, and when he got back his friends threw him a reception. Brian had asked him to come along, so Dan’s stuck standing awkwardly near the entrance. He's honestly happy for the guy, whoever he is, but he’s a friend of Brian’s that Dan’s pretty sure he’s never met before, and Brian isn’t even here yet. He feels more than a little out of place in this sea of unfamiliar faces. At least, mostly unfamiliar. He's fairly certain he’s seen a few of their faces on the backs of books he’s seen Brian reading, but that just makes them all the more intimidating. 

“Oh my god! Kenny G? Saxophone player? Is that you?” Arin asks, coming up from behind him. 

Dan grins so hard he thinks it might split his face. He turns around and Arin greets him with a hug and a cup of some dark-colored beverage. Dan quirks an eyebrow at the latter as Arin presses it into his hand.

“It’s just Pepsi,” Arin explains before he's even asked. “Virgin, just like you.” Dan gives him an annoyed look; he quickly finishes, “...like it. I was gonna say, ‘Virgin, just like you like it.’ You didn’t let me finish.”

“Right. Sure you were,” Dan laughs. “Well, thanks.” He takes a sip and glances around. “Where’s Suzy?”

“Checking our coats,” Arin says. “At the coat check, I mean. Not, like. For bombs.”

“Don’t say ‘bombs’ in a crowded room, Arin,” Dan laughs. “You’ll cause a panic.”

“Why?” Arin asks. “It’s a scientist wedding. They’re all scientists. I bet they say ‘bomb’ all the time.”

“I’m sure they’re not _ all _ scientists,” Dan insists. “You look really nice, by the way.” Arin grins, smooths down the front of his light grey suit jacket, adjusts the collar of the light green shirt underneath. They're very good colors on him.

“Thanks, so do you,” Arin replies. “Very classic." Dan's black tie is very loosely tied, and the white shirt he’s wearing beneath his slim-fitting black suit has been left undone down to the third button, exposing an awful lot of his pale chest. Arin’s eyes keep flickering to it, like an unsubtle teenage boy trying to check out a girl’s cleavage. 

“You checkin’ me out, Hanson?” he asks, throwing him a comically sleazy grin, teasing his fingers up and down the V of bare skin just to watch Arin’s eyes follow them. He thinks Arin will laugh it off to play it cool, but instead he swallows, bites his lower lip, and stares unabashedly. Dan’s suddenly feeling a little hot under his unbuttoned collar.

“Coats are checked!” Suzy announces, coming up next to Arin and wrapping her arms around his waist. Arin quickly tucks her into his side and nuzzles affectionately at her temple.

Her dress is such a deep blue that it’s almost black, with a slit goes up her thigh and a top that splits into two pieces like a bikini top and ties behind her neck. The fabric is gauzy, almost sheer, with flecks of bright blue glitter that catch the ceiling lights as she moves.

“You like my dress, Danny?” Suzy asks, smiling at him from under Arin’s arm. He realizes that’s her way of telling him he’s staring.

“Yeah I, uh. I like blue,” Dan stammers, blushing a little. She beams, and Arin squeezes her even closer, pressing a fond kiss to the side of her hair as if rewarding her for getting Dan flustered.

“I know you like blue,” Suzy replies. “Danny likes blue, and glitter, and sexy things...” She tosses her hair, pulled up into a high ponytail held in place with a shiny gold cuff, the way old Greek paintings depict Artemis, with two long pieces left loose in the front. She twirls a bit of the light streak around her finger and adds, “Oh, and blondes, right?”

“Not exclusively,” Dan breathes.

“Easy there, Suze,” Arin laughs. “You’re gonna make those tight pants of his even tighter.” Dan quickly downs the rest of his Pepsi and hopes he’s not blushing as hard as he thinks he is, that maybe his cheeks only feel hot on the inside, but Arin and Suzy’s shared smile makes him think that’s most likely not the case.

“Sorry,” Suzy says, sweet and genuine. “I really shouldn’t tease. You’re just so cute when you blush.” She holds out her hand. “How about I make it up to you with a dance?” He gives her a skeptical look and her smile grows. “Oh, come on. I promise I’ll be nice.” 

“You should go,” Arin encourages, taking Dan's now-empty cup from him. “I’m gonna go say hi to Ava.”

“Wait, who’s Ava?” Dan asks as Suzy takes his hand.

"Ava?" Suzy giggles softly, leading him toward the dance floor. “Let me see...brunette. Psychologist. Just married Mark, who's friends with Brian. Uhhh, the bride?”

“Brian’s the bride?” Dan grins, and Suzy laughs.

It’s a slow song. His instinct is to leave some space between them the way he usually would when dancing with one of his female friends, but Suzy presses her body right up against his. The fabric of his shirt is thin, and he can feel the slightly rough texture of her dress, feel her every curve, feel her chest move with every breath she takes. 

It’s eerily like being back at a school dance. It’s actually been almost that long of a time since he’s felt this nervous around a girl. He’s grown confident with age, but that’s because the fear of rejection isn’t usually there; he’s long been able to comfort himself by figuring that any girl that rejected him just clearly wasn’t the girl for him. But this isn’t just any girl, this is _ Suzy, _ and they’re walking this strange sort of grey area where he’s not sure what’s okay and what isn’t, everything feels sort of possible but also absolutely impossible, because again, it’s Suzy, who might actually genuinely be the prettiest girl he’s ever seen and also possibly the sweetest and the funniest and…

“Earth to Danny,” Suzy says, and her tone is sweet but also slightly, fondly amused. “I don’t know what you’re thinking about up there, but you are _ definitely _overthinking it.” She reaches up, brushing a thumb along his jawline. “Unclench that jaw, mister, and just dance with me.” She pats him on the cheek. “You can worry about it later.”

“What if I need to worry about it now?” he asks. 

“Aww, Danny,” She shakes her head, goes up on her toes, and kisses him on the cheek, then leans in even closer, her lips inches from his ear, her breath sending pleasant goosebumps down the back of his neck.

“Trust me,” she whispers, “you don’t.”

//


	4. we can know each other

//  
  
“You’re right,” she agrees, scrolling down the page. “They really do all look fake as shit.”

“Ugh, I know,” Dan sighs. “And the CGI ones looked even worse.” He flops backwards away from the laptop, sprawling onto the couch in Arin and Suzy's living room, as if he can’t stand the sight of sub-par fake body jewelry any longer. “Apparently all the scientists in the world couldn’t figure out how to make a fake nipple piercing that looked real."

“You could just get them pierced for real,” she suggests.

“Yeah, right,” Dan snorts. “I’ll just go get my nipples pierced really quick.” 

“You wanted them for the video, you must have thought about it,” Suzy points out.

“Yeah, fake ones,” Dan says. “I’m not jamming a needle through my nipple, that sounds _way_ too painful.”

“It doesn’t actually hurt _that_ bad,” Suzy insists. She pauses. “Granted, I drank a whole bottle of wine before I went, but the anticipation is really the worst part of it all, and afterwards you’re just like. Holy shit. I _ did _ that. There’s that rush of endorphins...it’s pretty great, actually, all in all. I’d do it again, honestly, but I’m all out of nips to pierce.” 

“Wait, you…” Dan sits up halfway on the couch, gaping at her. “So you...”

“I have both my nipples pierced, yeah,” she replies easily. She giggles at Dan’s expression. “Oh my god. Did I break you? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m, uh…” He swallows. “I’m good. I just...did not know that.”

“Well, no, of course you didn’t,” she says. “I don’t just go around telling people about it, and you’ve never seen them.” She grins even wider. “Do you _ want _ to see them?”

“Suzy!” he cries, throwing an arm over his face and collapsing backwards onto the couch. “Don’t _ do _ that to me.”

“What?” she asks, tilting her head to the side. God, she’s just so cute sometimes he can’t even stand it. “I’m serious. If you’re thinking of getting yours pierced, you should see an example, and I don’t think I know anyone else with theirs pierced who’d be willing to give you a peek.” 

“I’ve seen pierced nipples before,” Dan tells her. “In college, my girlfriend got hers done.” He never actually got to touch them - the two of them broke up before the piercings healed - but he doesn’t tell her that.

“Yeah, but you weren’t looking at them in the context of getting yours done, too,” Suzy points out. She grins. “Are you seriously trying to talk your way _ out _ of seeing me topless right now? Should I be insulted?” 

“No, I... “ Dan pauses. “You know, you’re actually making some good points. My fourteen year old self is _ screaming _ at me right now to just take the damn opportunity.”

“Exactly,” Suzy agrees. She undoes the top few buttons on her shirt and then laughs at Dan’s expression. “Danny, sweetie, you look _ terrified. _ Please calm down, at least just a little. They’re pierced, but I assure you, they’re just otherwise completely normal, average, run-of-the-mill titties.” 

“I know, but…” His brain says ‘but you’re _ Suzy _’, but he can’t say that, not without making himself feel even stupider and more like an awkward preteen than he already feels. He pauses, and then eventually supplies, “I’ve just known you for so long in a clothes-on type relationship, sometimes it’s…”

“It’s a first,” she agrees. “It’s a new step for us. But I’d like to also point out that I have seen you naked - not _ everything, _ mind you, I didn’t want to stare. But I have shared a bed with you and Arin while you were naked and post-coital, so I do think we’re at this level.”

“I mean, I don’t disagree,” Dan admits, but he still bites his lip when Suzy undoes the rest of the buttons on her shirt and then shrugs the silky black shirt off, tossing it onto the couch. She’s wearing a thin, unpadded lace bra, and Dan can already see the shape of the piercings through the fabric, the twin smaller dots indenting the thin fabric of the bra on either side of each of her nipples. He swallows, hard.

“Come here, Danny,” she says softly, and he stands up off the couch, walking over to her like he’s in a trance. When he’s about halfway to her, she reaches behind her back and undoes the clasp, slides the straps down her shoulders, and lets the bra fall to the ground in front of her, and then suddenly he’s in front of her and she’s topless and his heart is beating so hard in his ears he can barely hear her speak.

Her breasts are small and perky, two perfect little handfuls, creamy white and bouncing slightly as she tosses her hair back over her shoulders to give him an unobstructed view. Her nipples are a slightly darker pink than he would’ve expected, though that might partially just be due to the contrast of her pale skin. And true to her word, she’s got a barbell through each of them, the ends of which are shaped like tiny silver hearts. 

Dan is absolutely, instantly at least half hard in his jeans, and he hopes to any higher power out there that she doesn’t notice. “Cute,” he says, unsure what else he could say that wouldn’t sound awkward or porn-y or both. “I like the little hearts.” 

“Yeah?” she asks, smiling. “Here.” She grabs one of his hands and brings it to her chest. “You can feel, if you want.” Her nipple is pressing right against his palm, the cold hard metal a sharp contrast to her warm soft breast. 

He shifts his hand slightly, his hand cupping her breast from the bottom and his thumb brushing over her nipple, which is harder now that he’s touching it than it was when he was just looking, and he’s not sure what to do with that information. “Did it really not hurt?” he asks. “Getting them done?”

“You’re really actually thinking about it now, aren’t you?” she asks, grinning wide and catlike. “No, I mean. I won’t lie, it definitely hurt, for sure. It’s a needle going through some very sensitive skin, there’s no way that’s not gonna pinch a little. But it’s fast - if you don’t get in your own head about it, if you just let them do it and get it over with, it’s literally over in like two seconds, and then you have a cute new piercing!” She looks down at his thumb gently exploring the piercing. “When I got mine, they did the first one, and they stopped and were like, ‘Are you okay? Are you ready for the second one?’ And I was just like…’Yeah! Do it! Do it fast! Don’t ask me! Just do it!’” She laughs. “So I’d say just tell them upfront you want both, you want it done fast, and you’ll be fine.” 

Dan plays with the little barbell, pushing it back and forth. “Can I…?” He pauses, unsure of the verbiage to use. “I wanna see how it feels inside the skin.”

“You can pinch a little bit, yeah, go ahead,” she assures him. “I got these done when I was, like, twenty-two. They’ve been healed for ages. You’re not gonna hurt me.” 

“I mean, I figured that, I just…” He pinches the tiny bud between his forefinger and thumb, gently, softly, feeling the tiny post inside as he rolls it between his fingertips. 

Suzy’s mouth opens and closes on a soundless cry, and she shudders a little. “Wow. Okay. You’re really good at that,” she says, and her voice is a little bit breathy, and Dan is absolutely rocking a full chub, straining hard inside his jeans and making him go a little lightheaded. 

“I’m not trying to be,” Dan insists. “I’m just, uh...exploring.” He fiddles with the piercing a little more, tracing the edges of one of the little hearts with the side of his thumbnail and tugging slightly, mostly on accident. Mostly.

"Oh, getting cheeky now, are we?" Suzy’s breath hitches, and then she giggles, the sound soft and light and sparkly in the otherwise empty living room. “You like them?” she asks, soft and still a little breathless.

“Yeah,” Dan tells her. “How could I not?”

“Think you wanna get yours done?” she adds.

He swallows. “The pain is still a pretty big barrier,” he tells her. She pauses, waiting, and he sighs. “Would you go with me?”

She brightens. “Are you kidding? Of course I would!” she cries. “I’d hold your hand and keep you calm and talk you out of backing out…” She gives him a warm smile. “You’ll love them, and god, they’ll look_ so _cute on you. You might actually have to smack Arin’s hand away with a ruler to keep him from touching them while they’re healing, though” She giggles. “Shit, you might have to smack mine.” 

“I want it to be a surprise,” he tells her. “When the video comes out, I want everyone to be surprised.” He smiles at her fondly. “Except you, obviously. Only you, me, and Brian will know.” He pauses. “Well. And Brent too, I guess. And probably the TWRP guys. But mostly just us.” 

“I can help you keep it a secret,” she assures him. She grins, looking up at him, his thumb still gently brushing over her piercing, over the sensitive little bud. “Is that...so have you decided, then? Are you doing this? Are _ we _ doing this?”

Dan laughs nervously. “I mean. We’ll see how serious I am versus how much shit I'm talking when we actually get to the piercing place, but…” He finally withdraws his hand from her chest and sighs defeatedly. “Yeah, fuck it. What are you doing Thursday?”

“Oh, uh, this Thursday? Hmmm, let me see, I’m…” Suzy squeals, going up on her toes. “Taking you to get your nipples pierced, obviously!” She grins as Dan’s eyeline distinctly drifts down as she drops back down to the soles of her feet, feeling her breasts bounce as she settles back into place.

She rocks on her heels, giving Dan more to stare at. “But why won’t you look me in the eye all of a sudden, Danny?” she teases. “Is it something I said?” 

“God, Suze,” Dan groans, burying his face in his hands. “You’re gonna kill me.”

“Just a little death,” she grins, grabbing his hands, pulling them away from his face and squeezing them gently. “I promise."

//


	5. and hear nature's words, my dear friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CONTENT WARNING: this chapter contains a (non-graphic) nipple piercing scene

//  
  
Arin’s got back-to-back meetings all day on Thursday, giving Dan the whole day off, so Suzy heads over to pick him up shortly after Arin leaves. The anxiety in the pit of his stomach woke Dan up uncomfortably, unnecessarily early, and after showering and picking out his clothes far more carefully than was really necessary, he’s had several hours to just sit around and get more and more nervous about this. By the time Suzy texts him that she’s outside, he’s a fucking wreck.

“I’m so excited!” she cries as soon as she sees him. Her hair is tied up in a messy bun and her clothes were clearly chosen more for comfort than fashion. She looks absolutely fucking fantastic. 

As soon as he’s in the car, she hands him two pills and a black reusable water bottle with the Psychic Circle Oddities logo on it. “Here, take some Tylenol,” she instructs. “It’s always a good idea to take something to help with the pain ahead of time.”

He takes the pills and then examines the bottle. “Do you sell these?” he asks.

“Not yet,” she replies. “It’s a prototype.”

“I was going to say, I don’t remember seeing it in your store,” Dan says. “It’s cute.” 

He tries to hand the bottle back to her, but she gestures for him to keep it. “Drink a bit of that. You want to be nice and hydrated,” she informs him. They get to a red light, and she reaches over, squeezes his hand. “I know that you’re _ super _ nervous, sweetie, and I get it, but just try not to get too in your own head about it, okay?”

She takes her hand back to keep driving and continues, “The actual piercing is just like a sharp little pinch that takes about, like, mmm, about four seconds? And afterwards it doesn’t really _ hurt, _ it just feels kinda...warm, for the most part. You’re mostly just very, like, aware of the piercing. There might be a little bit of a sting for the first day or so, but it’s not anywhere _ near _ like what you’re thinking right now, I absolutely promise you.” 

“I mean, either way, I can take it,” Dan insists. “At least, I think I can take it. I’ve...I’ve really kinda talked myself into it, now. I really do want this piercing, I’ve like...weirdly kinda promised it to myself, and I’ll be super mad at myself if I back out now.” He takes a long drink of water. “I can totally handle this.”

“I mean, I’m sure you can,” Suzy confirms. “But also, like, I think you might actually _ really _ like it.”

“Oh, I’m sure I will,” Dan tells her. “I know they’ll look really cool, and pierced nipples really suit the Danny Sexbang character, like, _ so _ well, I kind of can’t believe I never thought of it before now.” He’s calming down a little, now that he’s talking about something he’s passionate about. “I legit cannot _ wait _for that music video to go up. Everyone will be asking if they’re real, and I’ll get to be like...like, ‘Yeah, man! They sure as fuck are!’” He grins. “It’s just all gonna be so fun, I think it’ll really be awesome.”

“It absolutely will!” Suzy agrees. “But I meant, well. You know. Not just the piercings themselves, I think you might actually really enjoy _ getting _ them pierced.” She tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear, looking away from him as she turns onto a side street. “I mean, I know I did. Arin went with me, of course; he drove us there while I chugged a bottle of like, seriously, the _ grossest _ wine, right there in his passenger seat.”

Dan doesn’t say anything, mostly at a loss for words, so Suzy just continues talking as she drives, “So a lot of it is kind of a blur, to be honest, but I very distinctly remember sitting there in the chair, and Arin’s just holding my hand and staring at my tits which are, uh, very much out, in what is technically a public place, and Arin’s just sitting there watching this, I’ll be honest, _crazy_ gorgeous girl as she’s pinching and feeling my nipple. And he’s just like, fucking _staring, _and obviously very into what’s happening.” 

She glances over at Dan to make sure he’s still listening; he couldn’t possibly be staring at her any harder. She smiles and returns her attention to the road. “And then it was just like, this sharp heat, and I look down and I was just like. Whoa! Hey! My nipple is pierced! And it looks so good!” She shrugs. “So yeah, dude, I don’t know. I don’t exactly have a read on _ all _ the stuff you’re into just yet, but I do know you pretty well by now, and I have a feeling you’d be _ pretty _into some of that.”

“Oh my god,” Dan breathes. He runs a hand through his hair. “I, uh, I guess I didn’t realize it was such a sexy experience. I thought it was more, like, uh...oh man, I don’t know the word I’m looking for. Clinical, I guess?”

“I mean, it’s definitely all very professional,” Suzy replies. “Their _ goal _ isn’t for it to be sexy. But getting a piercing like this kind of...inevitably has that sort of an exhibitionist undercurrent to it, you know, just a little bit of a sexy vibe, if you’re in the right mood when you go and you go with the right people.” She smiles at him. “I’m really touched that you wanted me to come with you, Danny. I’m glad you trust me so much.” 

“Oh my god, are you kidding? Of course I trust you,” Dan tells her. “But I also gotta tell you, the thought of the piercer being a hot girl? That did not actually cross my mind until now, and, uh, if she is, like, if that happens? I have to warn you, Suzy, just, like, just as a good friend, I have to warn you that I, uh…” He clears his throat. “I _ might _ actually come in my pants.” 

Suzy giggles. “If you do, I promise I’ll look away,” she replies. She quirks an eyebrow at him. “Unless you want me to look at you? Like, right at you? Right in your eyes?” He lets out a soft little groan of protest and she giggles again, harder. “Hey, I’m just saying. I’m here for you. Whatever you’re into, man, just let me know.”

“Honestly, Suze?” Dan replies, his face bright red. “Sometimes I think you know even better than me.” 

//

The person who will be doing Dan’s piercings doesn’t end up being a girl at all, but a very energetic and sweet guy named Jack, who has long white-blonde hair and far too many silver rings in each of his ears to even count. He greets them both warmly and, after a brief consultation and some signing of waivers, he directs them to a private room to wait.

“This is nice,” Suzy remarks, sitting down on a spare seat off to the side. “The place I went to just had a curtain, it felt very public.” 

“Didn’t you say you liked that, though?” Dan points out as he climbs into the somewhat intimidatingly large chair. It reminds him a bit too much of going to the dentist, which has never been an experience he’s especially enjoyed. “Weren’t you into that, if I recall correctly?”

“Aw man, you got me!” Suzy cries, and then grins at him. “Are you, like, super jealous? Are you disappointed that you got a private room, and _ not _ just a curtain?” She leans in conspiratorially and asks, “What, were you hoping they’d just pierce you right in the waiting room, right in front of the windows for everyone walking by to see, or…?”

_ “Jesus, _ Suzy, take it easy,” Dan groans. _ “Fuck.” _

She giggles and shrugs. “Hey, if you’re turned on, you’re not nervous, right?” She reaches out and grabs Dan’s hand, squeezing gently. “I did promise I’d hold your hand and keep you calm.” 

“Alright, guys, sorry about the wait,” Jack says, walking into the room. He drags a stool over next to Dan, sitting opposite Suzy and holding up an unopened package of tools. “I’m opening this brand-new needle in front of you, per California health code.”

“Yeah, looks good,” Dan replies. “It, uh, sure looks like a needle, _ fuck.” _

Suzy squeezes his hand, smiling at him fondly, and Jack smiles at him, too. “First piercing?” he asks, and Dan nods. “Damn. Hell of a choice for a first. You don’t even have your ears done?”

“Nope,” Dan replies, tucking his hair back to show him. “I, uh, I just never really wanted any piercings besides this.”

“Fair,” Jack nods. “It’s a very fun one to have, and it’s pretty easy to keep it a secret if you want to. Nobody will know unless they see you shirtless or you tell them.” He shrugs. “Well, or if you wear a thin enough shirt, then they’ll poke through a little. And it also depends what kind of jewelry you wear, too.” He holds up a second, smaller sealed package, the silver jewelry inside gleaming beneath the lights. “I grabbed barbels, they’re more subtle to hide and they heal easier, but I’ll do it with rings if you really want ‘em.”

“No, you definitely want barbels,” Suzy tells him, piping in before he has time to even consider otherwise. “Rings can get caught on stuff too easy, and that shit hurts when they’re fully healed, let alone when you _ just _ got them pierced.” 

“Hey, you know your stuff,” Jack remarks, nodding in admiration. 

“Oh, uh, no, not really. I mean, I just have mine done, too,” Suzy replies.

“Very cool,” Jack remarks, and Dan really does have to admire his professionalism, because he manages to say it like they’re just making chill, easy small talk about nothing especially interesting, like the hottest girl Dan’s ever seen isn’t sitting there talking about her nipples right now. Dan supposes that’s a pretty everyday occurrence for Jack, encountering very attractive girls with all kinds of intimately-placed piercings, but Dan still just so vividly remembers how his brain felt like it had to fucking _ reboot _ after she first told him.

“But yeah, I’d honestly be happy to chill and chat with you guys all day, but I can tell you’re pretty nervous, there, Danny, so let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” Jack suggests. He gestures to Dan. “If you could take your shirt off for me, please?”

Dan unzips the grey Game Grumps hoodie he’s wearing with no shirt underneath and asks, “Is that good?” He tugs it down one shoulder and offers, “I can take it the rest of the way off if you need me to, I just get cold easy.”

Jack glances up and replies, “No, that’s fine, I can absolutely work with that!” 

“Cool,” Dan replies, settling into the chair, making sure the hoodie is as open as it can be. 

Jack puts on a pair of disposable rubber gloves and states, “I dunno if you’re allergic to latex, but these are latex-free.” He tears open a small foil packet, pulls out a cloth, and then wipes the cool, wet cloth over Dan’s chest. The room fills with a sharp, chemical smell, and Jack explains, “I’m just sanitizing the area, make it less likely you get an infection.” Dan sucks in a sharp breath, and Jack hums sympathetically. “Oh man, you’re _ jumpy.” _

“No, I’m, uh…” Dan swallows. His anxiety is making all his nerve endings light up bright, and the cool cloth over such sensitive skin is...a lot, right now. “Just sensitive, mostly.”

“Ohh, I get ya,” Jack replies. “Sorry, I’ll be as gentle as I can.”

“He’s okay,” Suzy insists. Dan glances over at her, and she smiles at him. “Aren’t you, Danny? You’re alright, you’re fine.”

“You’re very supportive,” Jack tells her. “That’s so sweet, I love to see that.” He pinches one nipple, firmly, preparing to put on the clamps, and Dan jumps, flinching away on instinct. “Oh, easy there, now, none of that. I want you to look right into your girlfriend’s eyes for me.” 

Dan’s looking at Suzy before he can even process the verbiage, but there’s no doubt or surprise on her face, just warmth and concern in her eyes and a small, sweet smile on her lips. “It’s okay,” she tells him, softly. “You’re alright. You’re here, right? You’re in the chair. The hardest part’s already over.” 

“I need you to hold very still for me, okay?” Jack informs him. Suzy reaches out, putting one hand on his ribs, holding him still while staying out of Jack’s way. Jack doesn’t comment, but Dan can hear the smile in his voice as he says, “Deep breath, now, Danny. Little pinch here. You’re doing great.”

He’s looking right into Suzy’s eyes when he feels it, that sharp heat she’d warned him about, and in the second before it turns to pain he squeezes her hand tight and cries, _ “Fuck, _ Suzy, I love you.” 

She leans over and presses a kiss to his forehead, giggling softly, almost giddy. “Danny,” she tells him, her hand lightly stroking his cheek. “I love you too, Danny, and you fucking _ did _ it.” She rests her chin on top of his head and then tells Jack, “Do the other one, quick; they waited too long on mine and almost gave me a chance to bail out, and I don’t want that to happen to him. He _ really _ wants both.”

“That cool with you, Danny?” Jack asks.

“Yes, yes, fucking do it,” Dan hisses, and this time, right when Jack tells him to take a deep breath, Suzy grabs his chin, tilts it up, and actually full-on fucking _ kisses him. _

//

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE leave a comment if you read this!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3


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